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Sketchbooks

When I joined an Artists Journal workshop last year, one of the suggestions was to carry a sketchbook all the time to make use of any sketching opportunity that might crop up. But.... I didn't feel confident sketching in a bound journal (what if I mess up the pages!) and most of the journals I found only had one kind of paper.

So after a lot of searching, I created my perfect sketchbook - using the Rollabind system.

What's Rollabind? It's an innovative "binding" solution which uses discs and specially punched pages. The books work like spiral bound books but you can move the papers around (in the same book or in different books) which makes it a lot more flexible. Check out this video to see how it works.

Rollabind Tips:

Use a single sketchbook for your sketching, shopping list, to-do lists, notes, scribbles, and move the paper to the relevant book later on. It's easier to carry one multi-purpose book than carry 3-4 different journals.

Ever wanted to try watercolors but realized your sketchbook only accepts dry media? Load your sketchbook with papers of different weights so you can sketch depending on your mood rather than the sketchbook you carry. You can even load papers of different sizes in the same sketchbook.

Add some plain copier paper at the end of your sketchbooks. That way, if you just feel like doodling/scribbling something or want to create thumbnail sketches but don't want to use your good paper, you don't have to stop sketching.